DUESSELDORF.- The mood was upbeat when dc duesseldorf contemporary came to a close at 19:00 on Sunday, April 22. Registering 23,000 visitors over 5 days, the first-ever dc duesseldorf contemporary trade fair proved it has what it takes to hold its own on the contemporary art market. The event went down particularly well with the experts, with curators and collectors praising its fresh young charm, the consistently high quality of its program and the quantity of unexpected perspectives in the areas of painting, installation and drawing – which were all highly beneficial to sales and future exhibitions.

Much of the work on show was completed or earmarked by artists specifically for dc duesseldorf contemporary. The many purchases by collectors from Europe and the US confirmed the quality of this unique young art. Exhibitors were delighted to welcome collectors such as Rik Reinking, Ivo Wessel, Mick Flick, Thomas Olbricht, Wilhelm and Gabi Schürmann, Heinz Ackermans, Helge Achenbach, Wolfgang Hauck, Axel Haubrok, Volker Kahmen, Julia Stoschek, Gisi von Klot and many others.

The Wilkinson Gallery from London made the most of this new opportunity and sold a piece by Phoebe Unwin to the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. It also sold a piece to Mario Testino, who made sure to stop by dc the same day he arrived in town to open his own exhibition at the NRW Forum.

In the very first hour of the preview, Sies + Höke sold Florian Slotawa‘s sculpture “GS.002” (12.000 EUROS) and took three reservations for the 4-part wood installation “SOL” by Belgian artist Kris Martin. Fiedler Contemporary from Cologne sold two pieces by Beat Zoderer (7.000 – 13.000 EUROS) to a private collection in Miami. Thrilled by the “enthusiastic crowd,”Mother’s Tankstation from Dublin were happy with their sales. Frankfurt-based Voges + Partner sold five pieces from Manfred Peckl’s One Man Show “Peckl Rocks” (4.800 EUROS each). Uli Voges was highly satisfied with the event, especially with the many new contacts he made at his stand. Ursula Walbröl from Duesseldorf succeeded in interesting a Swiss institution in work by artist Simon Lewis. Warsaw gallery Raster sold work by artist Michael Budny and Przemek Matecki (to collections in Duesseldorf and Britain respectively) and also fielded considerable interest in Rafal Bujnowski at the preview, with one piece going to a German collection for 6.300 EUROS.